Already this season he has four interceptions and a touchdown to go along with 10 passes defensed, due, in part, to a relentless physicality in coverage.

By now Eli Manning and Victor Cruz are expecting it.

"He’s very physical. He’s got long arms. He gets his hands on the receivers and doesn’t let them get a lot of clean releases. Our receivers are going to have to be physical with him and he’s going to hold and grab and use everything. We’re going to have to do a great job of beating that press, man coverage," Manning said.

Interestingly enough, Manning thinks there are some routes left in the Giants playbook that can take advantage of the tight press coverage. So far this season, it hasn't exactly been a strong suit for this offense.

"He plays the ball very well in the air and on the go routes," Manning said. "He’s a good player, but I think we’ll have some routes and some different things to try to take advantage of his style of play."

Cruz, especially has had to deal with an increase in physical, hands-on coverage. In 2011, his only matchup against Sherman, he caught three of three targets for 82 yards and a touchdown.

"He does a good job of getting his hands on you and moving his feet and doing some good things," Cruz said. "He’s a very cerebral player. He understands routes and route combinations and stuff like that. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but obviously it’s something that we can rise up to and be able to combat and it should be a good battle come Sunday."